1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for storing and shipping a composition to be used in a clean environment. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus which separately stores two substances, mixes the two substances when ready to be used in the clean environment, and dispenses the mixed substances inside the clean environment.
2. Background of the Related Art
A clean room is a space designed, maintained, and controlled to prevent particle and microbiological contamination of products. Certain chemical compositions are used inside clean rooms including, for instance, germicidal disinfectants such as phenols, cleaners, quaternary ammonium, peracetic acid, as well as various sporicides, such as peracetic acid, bleach, and hydrogen peroxide. The disinfectants and sporicides are used in clean rooms to disinfect clean room surfaces. The compositions, which are not naturally sterile, can be sterilized by filtration inside of the clean room.
To sterilize the compositions outside the clean room, the concentrated composition is either terminally sterilized by irradiation or aseptically processed. To terminally irradiation sterilize the composition, the composition is placed in a container, double bagged, and placed in a lined carton. The entire carton is then terminally sterilized by irradiation. A procedure for terminally irradiation sterilizing a composition is described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,900 to Vellutato, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
To aseptically process the concentrated composition, the composition is sterilized through filtration and (inside a sterile environment) placed into a container that has been pre-sterilized, such as by irradiation. The container can then be double bagged, also within the sterile environment. The double-bagged package is then removed from the sterile environment and placed into a carton having a liner. Aseptic processing is generally more labor intensive and expensive than terminal irradiation sterilization, and is typically only used for chemicals that cannot be irradiation sterilized, such as peracetic acid, bleach and hydrogen peroxide.
When concentrated compositions are used, they first must be diluted with sterile water to the proper concentration for use. However, the dilution breaks down the compositions, and consequently the diluted compositions have a relatively short shelf life of between about 17-30 days. Accordingly, clean room personnel typically dilute the concentrated composition just prior to actual use. To do so, once the sterile concentrated composition enters the clean room (either through on-site filter sterilization, or off-site irradiation sterilization or aseptic processing), it is typically manually mixed with a diluent (i.e., the sterile water) in a sterile container, such as a bucket, inside the clean room. The dilution and mixing has to be precise to ensure that the resulting concentration of disinfectant or sporicide will effectively kill the desired microorganisms. The mixing is difficult to perform manually since the person performing the mixing is outfitted in clean room apparel, such as sterile garments and gloves. Accordingly, the mixing is a time-consuming process that detracts from the time being spent on other work being performed in the clean room.
A number of containers have been developed which separately store two substances and allow the two substances to be mixed together prior to being dispensed as shown, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,576 to Leoncavallo, U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,296 to Shih, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,803 to Sturm. However, these patents are not well-suited for use to in a clean environment, including that they are not designed for shipment and sterilization, and can be difficult to use in a clean environment. In addition, the present invention improves upon the Assignees previous inventions, including U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0163651 to Vellutato, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,066,354 to Stank.